


A Test in Loyalty

by LostInStardust



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Acceptance, Anxiety, Fluff, Larry Murphy is a good father and I will fight anyone on this topic, Loyalty, M/M, Mentions of Sex, Slightly Out Of Character, Worry, first dinner with parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 14:22:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19252954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInStardust/pseuds/LostInStardust
Summary: When Jared Kleinman is invited over to the Murphy household for dinner for the first time, things don't go quite as Connor expected.





	A Test in Loyalty

Connor really was trying to connect with his family again. He was, but he did not want to do so in the way that his parents did. As he walked out of his last class of the day, French, and walked toward his boyfriend’s car, he was reminded of the conversation he had had with his parents the previous night.

“We want to learn more about him, Connor.” His mother had said. 

“We just want to make sure he is a nice guy,” is what his father had followed up with.

Connor tried putting up a fight, but when he realized it was futile, he finally gave in.

And that brought him to where he was now, getting ready to drive with his boyfriend to his house so they could have dinner with his parents. The last thing he needed was his parents saying something to ruin their relationship, or Jared saying something to make his parents dislike him. He knew how witty and dry-humored Jared could be at times, so he just hoped that side would not show itself in front of his parents. He recently began caring about their opinions again, and he really wanted his boyfriend to make a good impression.

He smiled at said boy as he walked up to his car and sat in the passenger seat. “What’s up dickhead?” He smirked as he looked at the smaller boy in the driver’s seat.

“Not much, ass-hat,” was Jared’s snarky reply as he snorted and gave Connor a chaste kiss on the cheek, making Connor blush hotly. “Aw, poor baby can barely manage a small kiss without getting overheated.”

“Shut up.” Connor murmured as he buckled his seatbelt. 

Jared began driving toward Connor’s house when he noticed his boyfriend’s silence. Although Connor wasn’t normally very talkative, he and Jared usually spent the ride home from school discussing their day. “Why so quiet, Murphy? You’re not normally the silent type,” he winked at his boyfriend as he delivered the line. Connor just rolled his eyes. No matter the number of times he and Jared slept together he doubted he’d ever get used to the constant sexual jokes Jared liked to tell.

“Just stressing about tonight.” Connor took a deep breath, twirling a strand of hair in his hand. “Things finally seem to be going well at home. Zoe and I aren’t exactly friends, but we’re civil, I’ve been better at controlling my temper around my dad, and I’ve been able to talk to my mom about personal topics more than I used to. I just don’t want tonight to fuck everything up, you know?” 

Jared reached over the center console and took Connor’s hand in his, gently rubbing his thumb against Connor’s knuckles, allowing himself to let his cold and cocky facade down for a little while. “It’s going to be okay, Con, I promise.” He squeezed his boyfriend’s hand and shot him a quick smile before immediately setting his gaze back to the road. Connor just let out a small sigh, turning to look out the window, but making sure he did not let go of Jared’s hand. 

In a few short minutes, they had arrived at the Murphy household. Connor approached the door slowly, a death grip on his messenger bag. Jared came up behind him and squeezed his waist in a quick, comforting gesture. Connor took one last deep breath as he opened the door and let himself and his boyfriend in. They were immediately greeted by Cynthia. 

“How was school, Connie?” Cynthia exclaimed, running over to hug her son, who felt his body tense at the sudden contact and his face flush at the use of his childhood nickname. 

“Mom,” he groaned, “don’t call me that.”

“Well, I think it’s cute.” Jared piped in from behind Connor. “Jared Kleinman.” He introduced himself properly to Cynthia, extending his hand for a shake. She took his hand and did just so. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Murphy, and thank you so much for so graciously inviting me into your home.” 

“You are such a gentleman! And please, call me Cynthia. Anyone who makes my little Connie happy is family to me.” Cynthia grinned widely at Jared.

Connor rolled his eyes. He figured his boyfriend would be a parent pleaser, but he didn’t expect this much. He also didn’t expect his mother to keep calling him an extremely embarrassing name in front of Jared, so he took the small lull in the conversation to drag him upstairs. The second the door closed behind them Jared immediately started teasing him. “Well, she seems very sweet, Connie.” Jared purred, wrapping his arms around Connor’s waist. The taller boy just snorted, pushing his boyfriend off as he sat down on his bed.

“That’s a lot coming from you, kiss-ass.” Connor laughed, yanking his boyfriend down by the arm into his bed, and crawling into his lap. Jared gently ran his fingers through Connor’s hair before roughly pulling him in for a kiss. The pair kissed and cuddled lazily for a while, turning on some random Lifetime movie to keep them occupied while they did so. As they got lost in each other, they didn’t notice a knock on the door, or Zoe barging in when she didn’t get a response. “Dinner’s ready-“ the words were lost in Zoe’s throat as she witnessed her brother on Jared Kleinman’s lap, kissing him. She knew the pair were dating, but it was weird for her to see them together since she always thought they hated each other. 

Connor flipped Zoe off as he rolled off of his boyfriend and went to his mirror to straighten his clothes before facing her parents. He tried to keep his cool, but inside, he was mortified at being caught by his sister. Jared laughed it off, as usual, telling Zoe they’d be right down.

After straightening themselves up, the two took the winding stairs down to the Murphy dining room. Jared squeezed Connor’s hand one last time before they let go of each other and Connor led them into the room. His dad was sitting at the head of the table (as per usual) with his mother next to him and his sister next to her. Jared sat across from Zoe, and Connor sat between his boyfriend and his father. As soon as they sat down Larry began talking to Jared. “I’m Connor’s father, Larry, but you can call me Mr. Murphy.”

Jared nodded respectfully. “I’m Jared Kleinman. Thank you so much for allowing me into your home, Mr. Murphy.”

Larry seemed to approve of that answer, and Connor let out a small breath of relief that he didn’t know he was holding. Jared reached for his hand under the table to further calm him down. 

“Are you looking into any colleges, Jared?” Larry questioned.

“Yeah, my dream school has always been MIT, so I decided to apply early decision there, since I know that’s where I really want to go, and I got accepted, so that’s where I’ll be going.”

“Wow, congratulations.” Larry appeared very impressed by Jared’s intelligence. “If only some of that determination about college could rub off on Connor. He still thinks a gap year would be a good idea, but I disagree. He needs to tough it up and get out there.” Cynthia and Connor were both about to interject when to everyone’s surprise, Jared did instead.

“With all due respect Mr. Murphy, I think that Connor is making the entirely right decision. He’s been through so much this year, and a large change like college might make all of his hard work go to waste. Plus, Connor doesn’t even know if he needs to go to college since he’s still undecided with what he wants to do, so why put all that money down for tuition if it isn’t necessary. I’m not trying to say that you don’t know your son, Mr. Murphy, but trust me, I do, and I know he is one of the most brilliant people I have ever encountered. If I were you I would trust in his ability to be able to make the right decision for himself. After all, if what you’re worried about is responsibility, I think letting Connor make this decision on his own is responsible enough.” Jared huffed as he sat back in his chair, face slightly red from anger.

Larry chuckled. “You’re a good man Jared. I’m glad to see that you’d stand up for my son in a heartbeat. I’m so glad that he found you.” 

Jared and Connor both sat dumbfounded. Had this all been a test? Connor looked at his dad with confusion. “So, you don’t care if I take a gap year?”

“Why would I? As Jared said, you’re a bright young man, and I trust in whatever decision you can make for yourself.” 

And so the rest of dinner went off without a hitch, and Jared quickly became loved by the whole family, all of which were so glad Connor had finally found someone who made him as happy as Jared did.

**Author's Note:**

> If y'all really thought I would turn Larry into the bad guy-


End file.
